I started playing at 5am. This week's heatwave has turned my apartment into an oven, the likes of which no fan or morning breeze can cool, so I'm gonna be getting up early and front-loading my days with as much progress as I can manage before I melt.
First impressions are very strong. I just cleared the section shown in that first gameplay reveal trailer, and it feels like a good place to stop for today, which means I have...
...survived the low-key Icelandic prologue, grinned like an idiot through the tightly edited yet still fully playable training montage in Malta, enjoyed the surprising social emphasis on being one of a half-dozen young recruits, and then seen everything fall apart during my first proper field operation, culminating in an impromptu skydive from an exploding cargo plane.
The promise of playing as and exploring the character of "Young Bond" could have been a disaster in the wrong hands, but it's most definitely a highlight, and Patrick Gibson's performance is making me connect with and care about Bond in a way I honestly wasn't expecting. The gameplay is great, and while the Hitman influences are inescapably blatant in certain sections (right down to a couple of recycled animations) it doesn't feel like the game's concept started from there. Observations that it "looks like branded Hitman DLC" are skin deep when those moments seamlessly and cinematically merge with equal amount of conversation, exploration, punch-ups and car chases. It's pacing is flawless.
That being said, I did start to roll my eyes at the sheer amount of Hitman nods, winks, and Easter Eggs during the chess tournament assignment. A comment about hiding a body in a wardrobe was subtle enough, but immediately following it with Bond asking himself, "How does he swap disguises so fast?" while tracking a quick-changing target was a little on-the-nose, and that was before I got anywhere near the bottle of wine, 47 vintage, with a rubber duck on its label.
Also, I love the new versions of classic Bond characters. They're using Moneypenny very smartly (a far cry from her "appearances" in older games) while M and Q are instant favourites, fresh and unique whilst somehow also remaining totally recognisable. There's a familial vibe to MI6 which again, I wasn't expecting. Gonna be real interesting to see how that plays out and informs Bond's character going forward.
Minor criticisms include some stuttering on pre-rendered cutscene playback and the driving controls, which are a little too twitchy for my tastes. Barely worth mentioning.
I'm real happy. Looking forward to more!
"If I let not knowing anything stop me from doing something, I'd never do everything!"
I didn’t click with Hitman as much as you and many others did, but this game seems like a nice shift from IO towards a more story driven action game approach which will be more up my alley. Are you hoping that the Hitman DNA is kept strong or are you going in with expectations of a linear experience?
While I wouldn't have minded if the influence was stronger, I'm definitely pleased with the balance I've seen thusfar, and while there's still plenty of game to go, I totally trust where it's going. Feels like the game's gonna let you stop and mess around a'la Hitman if you want to, but you could also just sprint for the most obvious solution if you're looking for a playable movie.
I did get a little turned around at one point, and ended up somewhere I wasn't supposed to be yet, but all that meant was that I could backtrack real fast when the penny eventually dropped.
Right now, I'm caught in that I want to blast through it before I see any spoilers, but I'm limited by how much I can play each day. I can certainly see that there'll be plenty of distractions to make replays twice, perhaps even three times as long. Perhaps that's the best of both worlds!
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@Voltan@Oram77 Apologies if this sounds like bragging, but I haven't suffered any crashes. I am playing on Quality 30fps though, so maybe that makes a difference? Technically it seems solid, aside from those judders on pre-rendered cutscenes and a few environmental textures looking rather blurry. Standard launch window stuff which I'm sure will get patched out before too long.
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@mookysam Way too hot, I agree! Why'd our first heatwave of the year have to be this week? Couldn't it have waited a couple more days, at least until we cleared the story...?!
"If I let not knowing anything stop me from doing something, I'd never do everything!"
@Werehog It's inconsiderate. My flat was 30°! The icing on my cake barely had form! Thankfully yesterday was a lot cooler outside, so by the time I got back from my evening swim it was a far more comfortable with the windows wide open. Plot twist, I was then kept up all night by the most shocking thunderstorm overhead, so looked like an utter hag this morning. ⛈️
Anyway, I did manage to play some of the opening mission after the mighty download had finished. It seems rather Tomb Raider 2013 so far. I like it. 😁 Less enamoured with the constant disconnects from the server, but I'm also not entirely sure what being connected does. Shall have far more impressions soon, and hopefully less to moan about the weather.
@Werehog I only had the one crash - it's just unfortunate that it was at the very beginning. There was also some shenanigans with connecting to servers while the privacy agreement was being displayed - I had to go offline and come back to that later because it just sat there doing nothing - so it's just my entry to the game that was a bit rough for a couple reasons.
Other than it's been pretty smooth. It disconnected from server once, which paused the game, but I was able to reconnect quickly.
I'm on PS5 Pro, no modes to choose from
@mookysam First up, a belated happy birthday, with apologies for not remembering or clocking the hint in your previous reply. Hope the cake was still edible!
Secondly yes, and same as what @Voltan has mentioned as well, I have also had a couple of random server disconnects now. I recall the same happened to Hitman 2 during its first couple weeks in the wild, so I'm sure IO will stabilise things soon, but you're right, it's frustrating that it impacts the campaign at all. I had hoped they would change their approach after the Hitman criticism, but alas. One of my disconnects was while I was wandering around and I didn't mind so much, but another happened as I left a cutscene and was bracing for a big moment, so that got an "Urgh!" out of me!
While I have no way to confirm this (as I'm even staying away from the trophy list, for fear of spoilers) it feels like I'm approaching the endgame, and might have it finished tomorrow. It's been a challenge limiting my playtime because I always wanna keep going! Such a strong campaign!
"If I let not knowing anything stop me from doing something, I'd never do everything!"
I’ve been keeping an eye on early details, and using the info on 007 first light https://isitcracked.com/game/007-first-light helped me get a clearer picture of the features and system needs before committing. It made it easier to gauge how it might run on my setup and what to expect from the stealth parts. If you’re curious about extra bonuses like the artbook or cosmetic pack, that page lays it out in a really straightforward way.
@ElusiveBounty the loading times are quite obnoxious. Crazy to think what was normal in the PS4 era is a pretty irritating issue now.
I think it's a conscious choice for First Light as it keeps the game moving. If it had in-depth options and smarter AI it would slow the pace of the game quite a lot which would be detrimental to a narrative game with long loading screens.
If you wanted Hitman the game is definitely a disappointment as it has far fewer options and heavily reduced social stealth.
I am 20% in and am loving the game, OK as mentioned the driving isn't the best but to be honest i am **** at driving games anyway so i was always going to have problems, i am Definity looking forward to finishing the game something i often do not do.
Played the intro and had a mooch around Q-Branch generally annoying the scientists with my "touch everything, needlessly" attitude. It already feels pretty well done, and the story hasn't even really kicked off yet.
I was a little unsure on if i'd click with the Bond and Moneypenny banter after one of the gameplay reveals, but i'm pretty okay with it.
The Q-sight (might not be called that) is very "watch dogs". I see lots of Uncharted and Hitman, but it has a bit of Watch Dogs and maybe even a touch of Metal Gear about it (although that might be me stretching it a little) it feels very Bond, though, most importantly.
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
@Ravix it's really reminding me of WD2 including the structure of the missions. I'm surprised more people talk about the Uncharted side of it since that isn't as heavy as I expected.
@Voltan@cainhurst94 Agree with you both about Greenway. Most definitely the story's beating heart, and Lennie James nails the role. The whole cast is outstanding, but he's a highlight, for sure.
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I finished the story a couple days ago. Am gonna wait for a couple patches before checking out TacSim and replaying the whole thing for the platinum, not because I think patches are needed (okay, it's not polished to a mirror sheen, but it's plenty stable) but because I have other games I wanna get through before my schedule gets prohibitively crowded.
As a gamer and Hitman fan, I'm very pleased with the campaign. To my previous note about the driving controls being a little wonky, the only other minor criticism I'll add is that, towards the endgame, the perfect pacing takes a bit of a knock. It feels deeply wrong to ask for less of such a good thing but I reckon one less "normal" room filled with scattered objectives and patrolling guards might have been wise, especially when the plot's busy building to a crescendo in the background.
But as a Bond fan? I'm deliriously happy right now. Methinks this might be my second-favourite Bond game of all time, beaten only by Everything or Nothing (which will be forever unbeatable). Heck, even the next movie is gonna have to be something real special to beat this interpretation.
"If I let not knowing anything stop me from doing something, I'd never do everything!"
It's really quite good. Done a full-on mission now and they basically get every aspect right. Some of the gameplay is slightly wonky, but it is easily forgiven.
You can also glean a decent amount of story through media clippings, found items and completed mission dossiers.
The audio is jolly good, too. Topped off by strong VA work all round.
When it seems you're out of luck.
There's just one man who gives a f*************ck
⚔️🛡🐎
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